This Is War: On Vaccines, On Wall Street, In The Pacific And BeyondNovelist Jeff Shaara ends his World War II series, comedian Tina Fey gets bossy, playwright Michael Frayn remembers his working-class English father, former banker William Cohan scrutinizes Goldman Sachs, and journalist Seth Mnookin advocates for vaccines.

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After completing a trilogy of Civil War novels his father had begun with the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Killer Angels, novelist Jeff Shaara created his own World War II series. The Final Storm is the fourth and final novel, told by combatants and commanders in the long fight for Okinawa,centering on the flight of the Enola Gay and leading up to the bombing of Hiroshima.

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Bossypants is not as subversive as you might hope for a book from the creator of 30 Rock, but it does touch on controversial subjects, including gay marriage, the use of Photoshop in women's magazines, gender bias in the workplace, being the boss, and hating the boss. Fey's great talent as a writer (which also landed her the head gig at SNL and later her own NBC show) is that she is fearless but not fearsome. Her charming, no-holds-barred attitude is on full display here.

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When acclaimed English poet, novelist and playwright Michael Frayn's father died in a hospice in 1970, his personal effects were few, but he left behind an exemplary legacy. He was a man who struggled and sacrificed, yet still maintained a happy, healthy life for his children, and a warm sense of humor — despite enduring World War II and the loss of his wife when Frayn and his sister were still young.

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Goldman Sachs has long been one of the most powerful and respected U.S. banks, but its reputation has taken a serious hit since the financial crisis. Former banker William D. Cohan, author of Money and Power, says the Wall Street firm's involvement in financial scandals isn't anything new. Over the years, Goldman Sachs in particular has used its power to influence government. "They have been very, very good at getting right up against that line of wrongdoing. ... They're very careful most of the time to just stay on this side, and they help influence the way regulations are enforced," he says.

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Diseases that were thought to have been nearly eradicated in the U.S. thanks to vaccines have returned as some parents choose not to vaccinate their children. Journalist Seth Mnookin takes on the anti-vaccination movement in his book The Panic Virus. He cites a 2010 pediatric study that found 25 percent of parents worried that vaccines could cause developmental problems in their children — a rise he blames, in part, on the media's coverage of the debate. "The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the CDC, the EPA, doctors, scientists around the world all agree — vaccines are safe," Mnookin tells NPR's Guy Raz.

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Charlotte Abbott edits "New in Paperback." A contributing editor for Publishers Weekly, she also leads a weekly chat on books and reading in the digital age every Friday from 4-5 p.m. ET on Twitter. Follow her at @charabbott or check out the #followreader hashtag.